O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.
English Standard Version (ESV)
David isn't asking to escape discipline entirely, but rather to be corrected with love, not with the full force of God's burning wrath. He knows God's chastening is meant to refine, but he fears that its severity, interpreted as pure anger, could utterly destroy him.
O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.
English Standard Version (ESV)
David finds himself in deep distress, likely from illness or some other severe affliction that he interprets as a sign of God's anger due to his sin. He pleads with God not to judge him with full wrath, acknowledging that such severe discipline would be utterly destructive. This psalm, a profound expression of repentance and vulnerability, lays bare his fear of God's judgment and his desperate need for mercy.
Have you ever felt so overwhelmed by hardship that it seemed like God's anger was personally directed at you? David faced this same terrifying thought.
In Psalm 6:1, David pleads, 'O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.'
God's Anger vs. God's Discipline
David understands that God does discipline His people. The commentary notes that this idea is even seen as a sign of love elsewhere in Scripture (Proverbs 3:11-12, Hebrews 12:11). However, David's plea isn't to be spared all discipline, but to be spared discipline in anger or wrath.
Why the Distinction Matters
To David, God's wrath signifies utter destruction – a judgment so complete that it would leave no room for repentance or service. He fears not just the suffering itself, but the nature of the suffering: as a sign of God’s burning, final displeasure rather than a loving, corrective Father's hand. This reveals a deep awareness that God’s anger is a terrifying force, and even His discipline, when perceived as wrath, can feel like an abyss.
When life gets tough, do you immediately look for the sin that must be causing it? David's plea suggests this was his first instinct.
The language David uses in Psalm 6:1, 'rebuke' and 'chasten,' points to the idea of corrective discipline, often associated with sin.
The Weight of Conscience
Ask a follow-up
Commentaries suggest this Psalm likely arose from a time of deep distress, possibly linked to David's sin with Bathsheba. He interprets his suffering as a direct consequence of God's displeasure. The feeling that hardship must be divine punishment for specific wrongdoing is a heavy burden.
A Father's Correction vs. Vengeance
While David fears God's wrath, the deeper implication is that he understands God's discipline, when rightly understood, is not vengeance. For believers, God’s chastening is a fatherly correction, aimed at restoration and growth, not annihilation. David’s prayer is to experience that fatherly correction, not the final judgment of his enemies.
Understand the original words
YHWH · Hebrew Proper Noun
The personal name of the covenant-keeping God of Israel, revealed to Moses, signifying His self-existence and faithfulness to His people.
yakach · Hebrew Verb
To express sharp disapproval or to correct someone, often used in the context of God dealing with the sins of His people, yet always tempered by His mercy.
aph · Hebrew Noun
A strong feeling of displeasure or indignation, which in a biblical context regarding God, is His righteous response to sin and rebellion.
yasar · Hebrew Verb
The act of training or correcting someone, often involving pain or hardship, with the goal of producing righteousness and maturity.
chemah · Hebrew Noun
The intense, burning heat of God’s judicial displeasure against unrepentant sin, distinct from mere emotional irritation.
This Psalm is deeply personal, reflecting a time when David felt God's discipline acutely, possibly following his sin with Bathsheba. He's not asking to be spared discipline altogether, but pleading for it to be administered in love, not in overwhelming wrath, fearing destruction.
c. 1000 BC— this verse
David's Sin with Bathsheba
King David commits adultery with Bathsheba and orchestrates the death of her husband, Uriah. This event is seen by many as the backdrop for Psalm 6 and similar penitential psalms.
c. 1000 BC
Nathan Confronts David
The prophet Nathan confronts David with his sin, leading David to a deep sense of repentance and sorrow. This confrontation triggers a period of introspection and spiritual distress for David.
c. 1000 BC
Death of David and Bathsheba's Son
As a consequence of David's sin, the child born from his union with Bathsheba falls gravely ill and dies, a significant period of mourning and divine judgment for David.
This passage echoes David's plea, directly asking God to correct with judgment and not in anger, lest the offender be brought to nothing. It highlights the deep concern that God's discipline, if perceived as pure wrath, could be utterly destructive.
Proverbs 3:11-12These verses offer a theological counterpoint, reminding us that God's chastening is a sign of His love and a fatherly discipline, not mere punitive wrath. This passage helps frame the psalmist's fear of God's anger as a desire for that loving correction, not the absence of discipline itself.
Hebrews 12:5-6The New Testament author quotes Proverbs 3:11-12, emphasizing that God disciplines those He loves. This reinforces the idea that David's prayer is not to avoid discipline altogether, but to experience it within the context of God's loving relationship, rather than as overwhelming fury.
Psalm 38:1This psalm shares the identical opening phrase, indicating a recurring theme in David's experience of facing suffering and questioning God's reaction. It shows this prayer for mercy amidst discipline was not a one-time plea but a deep cry of his heart.
Revelation 3:19Here, Jesus tells the church at Laodicea that He rebukes and disciplines those He loves. This New Testament statement provides a divine perspective on chastening, aligning with the psalmist's hope that God's correction would be rooted in love, not just righteous anger.
clarkePsalms 6:1: "To the chief Musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David. O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure."
O Lord, rebuke me not - This Psalm, Which is one of the seven Penitential Psalms, is supposed to have been written during some grievous disease with which David was afflicted after his transgression with Bath-sheba. It argues a deep consciousness of sin, and apprehension of the just displeasure of God. It is the very language of a tru…
ellicottPsalms 6:1: "To the chief Musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David. O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure."
(1) O Lord, rebuke me not. —Repeated with change of one word in Psalm 38:1 . The sublime thought that pain and sorrow are a discipline of love might be found in these words (as in Psalm 94:12 ; Proverbs 3:11-12 ; Jeremiah 10:24 ; Hebrews 12:3 ; Hebrews 12:11 ; Revelation 3:19 ), did not the context show that the sufferer in this case…
David isn't asking to escape discipline entirely, but rather to be corrected with love, not with the full force of God's burning wrath. He knows God's chastening is meant to refine, but he fears that its severity, interpreted as pure anger, could utterly destroy him.
David finds himself in deep distress, likely from illness or some other severe affliction that he interprets as a sign of God's anger due to his sin. He pleads with God not to judge him with full wrath, acknowledging that such severe discipline would be utterly destructive. This psalm, a profound expression of repentance and vulnerability, lays bare his fear of God's judgment and his desperate need for mercy.
David finds himself in deep distress, likely from illness or some other severe affliction that he interprets as a sign of God's anger due to his sin. He pleads with God not to judge him with full wrath, acknowledging that such severe discipline would be utterly destructive. This psalm, a profound expression of repentance and vulnerability, lays bare his fear of God's judgment and his desperate need for mercy.
"O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath." — David isn't asking to escape discipline entirely, but rather to be corrected with love, not with the full force of God's burning wrath. He knows God's chastening is meant to refine, but he fears that…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026